OSCE shares Moscow's concerns over Ukraine’s nuclear deal with US

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe shares Moscow's concern on world nuclear safety and the potential threat that possible US atomic fuel supplies to Ukraine might cause as the country remains in crisis.

The head of the OSCE and
Swiss president Didier Burkhalter says he is concerned about
nuclear safety in connection with the US intention to supply the
country with nuclear fuel, according to a reply letter to Deputy
Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry Vladimir
Gutenev.

“Nuclear safety is a key concern of the Swiss nuclear
policy,” he added. In this regard, the Swiss leader recalled
the proposal to amend the Convention on Nuclear Safety in order
to avoid long term contamination in the event of a nuclear
accident. “We would be delighted to welcome the strong
support of the Russian Federation in respect of the preparation
process, as well as strengthening the Convention on Nuclear
Safety,” said Burkhalter.

However, in Burkhalter’s opinion, the question should also be
“discussed between the operator and the regulator of nuclear
facilities, namely national security authority of Ukraine.”

“When a country has concerns about nuclear safety due to
another country, one needs to result to bilateral negotiations,
or, if not possible, to other appropriate authorities, such as
the IAEA,” the letter said according to Tass.

In early June, Gutenev sent a letter to Burkhalter warning of
security threats that European nations will face in case of a
potential industrial nuclear disaster at one of Ukraine's power
plants, as Kiev is planning to sign a contract with American
Westinghouse Electric Company. He highlighted the fact that
Soviet made nuclear plants are not compatible with fuel assembly
type TBC-W offered by the Americans, as previous trials have
shown.

“The nuclear reactors in Ukraine are of Russian (Soviet)
design, which are only designed for fuel that has passed a
special certification. Therefore, further attempts to use
non-adapted fuel assemblies of American production without a
corresponding adjustment increase the risk of failure of the
Ukrainian reactors and dramatically increase the likelihood of
man-made disasters,” Gutenev wrote in June, calling on the
OSCE to consider the issue.

In 2005, six experimental Westinghouse fuel assemblies, adopted
for use in USSR-developed reactors, were tried at the South
Ukraine plant in one reactor together with Russian fuel rods. By
2008 Ukraine signed a contract with Westinghouse on fuel rod
supply. However, the experiment showed that Westinghouse
assemblies deformed during exploitation and got stuck in the
core. The reason is simple – Russian nuclear fuel rods are
hexagonal in section, while Americans produce fuel assemblies of
square section.

By 2012, after the failed test, exploitation of US nuclear fuel
was banned in Ukraine and the fuel rods were returned to the
producer “to get fixed” while Russian scientists came to
the rescue. The Energoatom Company of Ukraine lost an estimated
$175 million in this trial.

Now the Kiev regime has renewed the 2008 nuclear fuel deal till
2020, to replace 25 percent of the Russian-made fuel rods with an
option to “provide more if needed.”

Ukraine has 4 nuclear power plants with 15 nuclear reactors that
generate at least 50 percent (over 13 megawatt) of all electric
power in Ukraine. All nuclear fuel for Ukrainian reactors has
been produced in Russia, which also recycles Ukraine’s nuclear
waste.

In order to reduce its dependency on Moscow, Kiev has announced
the beginning of construction of a Central Spent Fuel Storage
Facility in which the used fuel will be stored in double-walled
stainless steel canisters in the southeast of the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant, within the Exclusion Zone. It is scheduled
to be completed in 2017 to service nine of Ukraine's reactors.